Mother Carey's chicken

American  

[kair-eez] / ˈkɛər iz /

noun

1. any of various small petrels, especially the stormy petrel, Oceanites oceanicus.

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Mother Carey's chicken British  

/ ˈkɛərɪz /

noun

1. another name for storm petrel

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Etymology

Origin of Mother Carey's chicken

First recorded in 1760–70; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

You don’t want me to take in sail surely with this wind, you old Mother Carey’s chicken?

From Picked up at Sea The Gold Miners of Minturne Creek by Hutcheson, John C. (John Conroy)

Mother Carey's chicken hovers near when the elements are at strife.

From Romantic Spain A Record of Personal Experiences (Vol. II) by O'Shea, John Augustus

The Spaniard was hardly a mile to windward, a long, low, rakish craft, as black as a Mother Carey’s chicken.

From The Cruise of the Snowbird A Story of Arctic Adventure by Stables, Gordon

I am never tired of the calms, and I enjoy a stiff gale like a Mother Carey’s chicken, so long as I can be on deck or in the captain’s cabin. 

From Letters from the Cape by Duff Gordon, Lucie, Lady

“Here’s a Mother Carey’s chicken come aboard!” cried Sam Weeks, making for the poor tired thing to catch it.

From Afloat at Last A Sailor Boy's Log of his Life at Sea by Overend, William Heysham